Former Philippine National Police officer faces deportation hearing in Newark

APIn a 2005 courtroom artist's sketch, former Filipino police official Michael Ray Aquino.A former Philippine National Police officer who served time in prison for receiving classified U.S. government documents is facing an extradition hearing in Newark on murder charges.

Michael Ray Aquino could find out today if he will be returned to the Philippines, where he and two other men have been charged in connection with a double murder nine years ago.

His attorney says the charges against Aquino are politically motivated.

Aquino pleaded guilty in 2007 to accepting documents from a former U.S. Marine at Fort Monmouth who once worked as an aide to Vice Presidents Al Gore and Dick Cheney.

Prosecutors said the documents were stolen as part of a plot to overthrow the government of Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.